


Monsters In The Dark

by gillyAnne



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Some angst, Valentine's Day, XFDialogue2021, blame Gillian, there's a dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29584014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gillyAnne/pseuds/gillyAnne
Summary: Navigating a new relationship is difficult for Mulder and Scully - Monsters could be waiting.
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: X-Files Dialogue Fanfic Exchange (2021)





	Monsters In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RationalCashew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RationalCashew/gifts).



> Cate - this was scary as hell. For a long time, nothing happened. What eventually came out is a combination of my comfort zone and hopefully a realization of your ideas and prompt. Thank you for the challenge.

__ Dialogue Prompt:  _ "Mulder, you can only blame your problems on the world for so long." _

Set somewhere in an undated time after all things. 

I’m sorry if there’s canonical indiscrepancies. Forgive me.

For rationalcashew.

✦✧✦✧

Monsters In The Dark

✦✧✦✧

To say loneliness is a choice rings true with Scully on any day of the year except today. 

There is a difference between loneliness and aloneness and today being alone didn’t feel like a good thing, Scully pondered as she stared aimlessly out of the window of Mulders car that she’d taken back to the office for him. He’d chosen to walk back in the rain, leaving her with no choice but to make sure he had any means of getting home tonight. It had left her feeling lived, as if she wasn’t in control anymore.

Life as of late has been one dark room after another, filled with thunderclouds and rain, and even though she’s used to providing her own flashlight in blackened corridors she felt like the battery was slowly running out. Why was it that when he was with her he was both her light and her shadow?

What didn’t help was her partner’s unspoken obsession with dates. He’d been incessantly going on about tomorrow, Valentine’s day, another commercial holiday made up to promote consumerism and help the economy. Still, it held more power this year than any other year before. No plans of any kind had been mentioned, nothing was explicitly discussed beyond him meddling in her affairs and it made her uncertain in a way she didn’t like. He hadn’t asked her out, he had just been casually prying into her schedule and had been making remarks about dating. She didn’t know what to make of it. Was she dating him? Did he expect her to ask him out? It was annoying, and she wished he’d just be clear about it but that would mean demystifying their chemistry and she knew neither of them were ready for that. Nor did she know what that would mean - what even were they? Partners, her brain told her, and that’s all. They were partners. 

Sighing, Scully blinked a few times to get back to reality before grabbing Mulder’s car keys from the ignition and slamming the car door shut and heading for their office. His office, the one in which she still did not have a desk or even a chair that is explicitly hers. It says a lot, really, and she tried to push away the feeling of segregation and solitude that comes with such a simple thing. 

The monotone, pale grey corridors of the Bureau passed her by as the repetitive motion of one foot in front of the other brought her down into the basement. Ironic, really, how she went from rising to the top to taking the stairs to the basement office. However, something inside of her does not feel like a failure, for she knows one thing for sure - her own decisions are what lead her here, and she will never regret one single choice.

‘Ah, the lone wolf returns,’ Mulder welcomed her as she entered the office. ‘Where were you? You’re late.’ 

Scully sighed as she took him in, slouching in his chair, his feet up on the edge of his desk. His hair was wet and looked fuzzy, and his coat was drying on the chair in the corner. 

Her chair.

‘We didn’t have an appointment, so therefore I cannot be late. As a matter of fact, I was picking up your slack from the last case, I dropped off some files at the morgue and I only came back here to tell you Skinner wants to see us tomorrow,’ she told him.

‘Geez, Scully,’ Mulder leaned back in his chair. ‘This could’ve been an email.’

‘An email can’t give you this,’ Scully pulled out his car keys. ‘In case you’d forgotten, I had your car. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

As she tossed the car keys in his lap she turned to leave, but she already knew he’d call after her.

‘Scully!’ 

‘What?’

‘Drive me home?’ 

Scully frowned, a wave of annoyance flooding her system for no other reason than she’d like her partner to stop assuming things. 

‘No,’ she stated strongly, ‘You’re a grown man, or at least resemble the idea of one. Get yourself home.’

‘Didn’t hear you complain about how grown I was before,’ he grumbled as he sank back in his chair, his keys clinking down on his desk as he decided to wait out the storm that was Dana Scully. ‘Night, Scully.’ 

‘Seriously?’ Scully shook her head as she glanced back over her shoulder. ‘Also, don’t you dare sleep here, not after you made me bring your car back.’

‘As long as you didn’t teach it to talk back to me,’ he responded, and she heard a pencil hit the wall behind him as she turned to exit the office for the night without another word.

You annoying collection of boyish testosterone, Scully groaned internally as she walked all the way back through every single one of those corridors she’d cursed at before. Why I even stick with you I will never understand, her brain threw out. As her heart beat wildly with a mixture of anger and excitement she tried to ignore both truths, but couldn’t. You’re crazy about him, they spelled out, suddenly seeing eye-to-eye. You’d miss his voice if he didn’t challenge you on the daily. You’d miss the feeling of sitting in the driver’s seat of his car if he didn’t forget he had one every once in a while. And, most importantly… None of that would matter or even exist if you had your own desk up on some top floor far away from the everlasting universe of ongoing mystery that was Fox Mulder.

✦✧✦✧

Mulder watched as she left, her hair bouncing lightly on her slightly hunched shoulders. I hope my car still smells of you, his brain called after her. I hope you taught it to talk back like you do, because I miss you already.

Didn’t she know he was fully unequipped to adequately handle any emotions that had to do with her? Hadn’t she noticed how he just wanted to be close to her a little longer, how elated he was to see her in his office after he’d left her, or how desperate he was for a little repartee? How much it scared him to admit to anything that had happened between them in private, because he was afraid he might wake up and find it was all a dream? 

Rolling his eyes mostly at himself he sank back in his chair a little. That was one of the things he’d picked up from her, the eye roll, and it would be one of many if they continued what they’d started and even though he was excited, he couldn’t be more nervous.

Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day and he’d nagged her enough to know she didn’t have plans or expectations. What he didn’t know was how to ask her out in a way that would be casual, a partner date, a friend date… He needed it to feel like not much of a big deal or he was afraid the monsters lurking in the corners of his life would hear him, and respond. No, he needed this to be for them only. And he had plans, big plans which he hadn’t thought through that well, but he knew she would at least appreciate the sentiment - that is, if she’d even grant him the date at all.

Thirty minutes later he was still there, in his chair, marinating until the timer in his brain or his bladder would beep and prompt him to get up. However, the sound that stirred him from his fantasy world wasn’t any bodily function of his - no, it was the incessant sound of his phone ringing to call him to duty. He glanced over and went through the possibilities in his brain. Scully. Nah, she was on her way home to a warm bath, she wouldn’t give him a second thought again tonight. Not unless it was an emergency. But if it were, she’d call him back if he didn’t answer now. 

All of the other options meant an evening and probably night filled with work, and that was something he wasn’t in the mood for - not tonight, he decided, so he defiantly leaned back once more and just watched his phone as it rang. Until it didn’t. 

On the other side of town, Scully held her phone to her ear with a shaking hand as she felt the adrenaline leave her body. A flat tire wasn’t something she’d had planned for tonight, especially not at high speed - thankfully the road had been quiet and she’d safely steered into the side of the road, where she hadn’t thought twice before dialling Mulder’s number. Now that he wasn’t picking up she was re-evaluating that choice.

She got out of the car to check the damage, and within seconds she felt the rain soak her hair and slowly drip down her neck, into the collar of her coat. 

‘Dammit, Mulder,’ Scully cursed under her breath as silence filled the other end of the line. You don’t need him, something whispered to her. You can walk home from here and get someone to fix your car. If he wants to leave you out here in the rain, that’s his problem, not yours. Just because you would rather be in his home than yours doesn’t change the fact that he’s not picking up. 

Just because you now know he can make you cry out his name helplessly from your bed in multiple ways doesn’t mean you’re dependent on him now. 

The memory that came with that thought flooded her system for a second and her cheeks flushed despite the cold drops of rain that surrounded her. It also stirred something of a rebellious nature inside of her - and she promptly hung up the phone, threw it on the passenger seat and sank back down in her car, giving herself one second to collect her thoughts before dialling road services. 

✦✧✦✧

The next morning Scully was surprised and slightly annoyed to not hear anything from Mulder at all. Not when she woke up, not when she drove her crappy rental from the place down the road to work, not when he was late and she had to explain to Skinner that no, she had no idea where her partner was. ‘Call him,’ Skinner had said, and she’d frowned and said he could call Mulder himself if he needed to talk to him - she had less and less to discuss with her partner as time went on. 

Of course that all changed the second she saw him come around the corner. 

Almost an hour late, his coat swinging casually around his hips, hands shoved in his pockets in a somewhat apologetic gesture that he wouldn’t back up with any words.

‘Where have you been?’ Scully sighed as she attempted to control the swelling in her heart - he looked so handsome, and she couldn’t help but check him out even though she thought she hid it well under a scolding look. 

‘Ehh… Cookie from the mail department called,’ Mulder said as he gestured behind him. 

‘Cookie... From the mail department,’ Scully repeated slowly.

‘Yeah,’ Mulder responded as he scratched his head. ‘Did I miss anything?’

‘I take it your phone works, then,’ Scully squinted at him, ‘If Cookie called.’

‘Well… Yeah,’ Mulder smiled. ‘Why, did you need me?’

Scully pursed her lips. ‘Forget it. If you’re going to stand me up two times in less than twenty-four hours one wonders why you have a partner at all.’

‘Didn’t realize this was a date,’ Mulder smirked. ‘Wait… When was the first time?’

‘You may remember a missed call yesterday evening,’ Scully said as she turned away. ‘My car broke down, but it’s fine, it’s being taken care of and I got a rental.’

Mulder reached out and punched her lightly in her upper arm. ‘See? You don’t need me.’

Scully turned back and searched his face until he met her eyes. The quiet clarity that he saw stunned him for a moment, but he didn’t know how to read what he saw - The words were there, but he lacked the knowledge or bravery to understand what they meant.

Somehow their silence drew more attention than their bickering and Scully felt her cheeks flush as a few agents directed their eyes towards the couple. Behind the windows to his office she could also see Skinner observe them, and suddenly she felt very exposed.

‘We need to talk about this somewhere else,’ Scully groaned. Mulder bowed his head, knew better than to vocally challenge her and nodded curtly. Scully turned around and headed for a space where they could talk, away from Skinner, away from prying eyes to a place where she could feel smothered, but always felt safe. 

She knew he followed her by the way the air moved behind her, the way she always knew if he was there or not - a feeling rather than a fact - and she wasn’t surprised when he reached around and opened the basement office door for her. 

‘Scully,’ Mulder started as soon as the door clicked shut. ‘I’m sorry I left you out there yesterday. If you’d have called again I would have… I don’t know, come pick you up or something.’ He shrugged and watched her, a little unsure of his next move. It was endearing, in a way, Scully thought. 

‘It’s fine, Mulder,’ she sighed as she turned around and crossed her arms. ‘You don’t have to save me. Nothing changed. Everything’s the same.’ 

‘Not for me,’ he said, and they both looked at each other as they realized neither questioned or had to explain when anything would have changed. Of course not. They’d shifted the parameters of their relationship. Still, the basic principles were the same. He was Mudler, she was Scully, they were partners looking for their truth. The only change had been in the stakes. He worshipped her, and even though she’d somehow known on some level since day one, like so many things in their partnership it was easier to forget than it was to believe. The more he said it, the more she debunked his evidence with science. It was chemistry, nothing more. However, Scully surmised, in the end… Everything came down to simple chemistry, and facts were facts - opposites attract, and the more he annoyed her, the more she loved him. If she followed the one thing she’d come to depend on, a hypothesis based on evidence, there could only be one truth between them.

Chemistry. 

Maybe even love.

Silence filled the basement office and Scully looked down at her feet. ‘A few things are different,’ she finally admitted. 

‘Do you wish they weren’t?’ Mulder asked.

‘Maybe,’ Scully answered truthfully. 

Mulder looked at the skies, the grey void that held a few persistent pencils that were still stuck in the structure of the ceiling. 

‘I don’t know what that means, Scully,’ he sighed. ‘I don’t want us to change. You… You’re all that’s real. We’re surrounded by danger every day and I can’t lose you. It’s cruel out there and I’m scared shitless one day something will come and take you away. I exposed you to this, I asked you to come with me on my journey and now all I can think about is how I could lose you.’

Scully dropped her arms to her sides as she saw Mulder’s desperation flood to the surface. It took a lot for him to bare his soul, she knew it, but something nagged her.

_ ‘ _ Mulder, you can only blame your problems on the world for so long,’ she stated, punctuating her words with her hand hoping to get through to him, but as the words left her mouth she felt them pierce through her own heart as well. 

✦✧✦✧

Mulder looked at Scully. Then, to the floor, and then slowly back to find Scully’s eyes. 

‘You let me in,’ he mumbled.

‘What?’

‘You… you let me in and now I don’t know what to do without you. I always knew it would have to be you. Like… It was all unobtainable at first. Samantha, the X-Files, answers, you. Maybe I’d solve one mystery. Two, if I was lucky. But you, you were always at the bottom of that list. I counted myself lucky you even stayed on that first day. I thought you’d be gone within the hour. But you stayed, and stayed, and finally… You even asked me to stay. For good. And either I’ve been having this really long high, and I’m dreaming, or it’s Valentine’s day and I’m standing in front of the woman I’m... dating. Or at least, trying to, and I have no idea what to do.’

‘You’re crazy,’ Scully shook her head. ‘We’re not dating, Mulder. You say all of that, yet you’re a dick to me all the time. You make fun of me, push me around. I don’t know what we are, but we’re definitely not dating.’

He looked hurt, but only for a second.

‘Go on a date with me,’ he said. ‘Today.’

‘That’s exactly what I mean,’ Scully said. ‘Exhibit A. Man thinks he can charm woman by offering to take her someplace nice. What, are you going to buy me chocolates? Or even worse, present me with a rose? I don’t want any of that, and I think you know that.’

‘Then… Movie night? Sleepover?’ He winked at her. ‘You like that, right?’

She broke into a smile which she unsuccessfully tried to hide behind her hand. ‘Sure,’ she finally agreed, ‘Movie night. But I pick the movie.’

‘Just stay away from the bottom shelf,’ he said, and turned around.

‘Where are you going?’ Scully asked incredulously. 

‘To follow up on a lead,’ he mumbled. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, nothing you need to concern yourself with. I’ll pick you up later.’

She pursed her lips as she watched him leave. 

Should she have told him?

Should she have disclosed to him how lonely it made her feel when he stood her up? No, she thought, he had enough of a white knight complex as-is. She’d stand by him, pick a movie, and all would be well. Eventually they’d talk. Or they’d sleep together again, or maybe, in an ideal world, both. Then she’d tell him how lonely he could make her feel. And, based solely on his words just now, she had a feeling he would understand - after all, in some way she did not yet understand, the feeling might be mutual.

Standing alone in the basement office always hit a nerve. Scully looked around the room - it really was his office. Messy, disorganized, organic and somehow warm even though it was tucked away in the coldest corner of the building, it never failed to make her feel at home. It was a strange form of self-sabotage, she thought, to choose to be here alone and be reminded of him even though she could just go and be with the person himself. 

She moved to sit in his chair, put her heels up on the desk where his feet usually dug into the wood and just breathed, slowly, in and out as she decided what to do next.

✦✧✦✧

Their office phone rang so hard and unexpectedly, it made her jump. A few of his pencils clattered to the floor as she answered, brushing her hair out of her face. ‘Scully.’

‘Scully, it’s me. I need you.’

Well, that didn’t take long, she thought. Or was this one of his ill-conceived ways of showing her how much she meant, how useful and valuable she was? If so, she made a mental note to tell him off on his methods. 

‘Need me where, Mulder? I thought you were off following up on a lead that didn’t involve me.’ 

‘The address should be on a note on the bottom corner of my computer screen,’ Mulder said. She looked for it and found a few barely discernible lines scribbled on a corner of what looked like a newspaper taped to the edge. ‘Got it,’ she said, ‘Although don’t blame me if I end up in Taiwan.’

‘I’ll be there,’ he said, and she huffed. 

‘Give me fifteen minutes.’

‘Taiwan’s a long way,’ he replied. ‘Later, Scully.’

She knew the address, and it did only take her ten minutes to reach it. Slamming the door of her red rental she sighed. ‘So, what’s so pressing you need me to drive here literally less than an hour after you got here?’ she asked Mulder as he approached her. Reviewing the area she didn’t see any police, no crime scene, and also nothing that looked obscure enough to be one of his side hustles. 

‘Close your eyes, Scully,’ Mulder said as he reached her. She looked at him, her brows dipping down so deep he was afraid she might give herself a headache. ‘What? No.’

‘Please?’ he begged, his large, kind eyes looking at her expectantly. 

He was so much taller, she thought, but so much of him was at her mercy.

‘I thought you called me here to work. What’s this about?’ she said, her hands coming to sit firmly on her hips. 

‘You’ll see,’ Mulder just said. ‘Now close your eyes, Scully.’

She finally sighed deeply and, after throwing him one last look that told him to choose his next steps carefully, closed her eyes. Lightly shaking her head and raising her chin she held out her hand to him. ‘Now what?’

He grasped her wrist and elbow and guided her along. She felt the ground change from gravel to pavement, took a few steps up, and finally crossed a threshold of some sorts - they were now definitely indoors. She smelled something familiar and heard something rustling. Then, a wet, sniffing sound before Mulder softly thanking someone. He released her, but only for a second, and when he came back she felt him guide her to stand by a counter. ‘Okay,’ he said as he let go of her arm. She heard his voice move away a little. ‘You can open your eyes.’

As soon as the light shone through her eyelashes the scent that had invaded her senses clicked. And there he was, with not two but four big puppy eyes looking at her to seek her approval. A mixed breed fluffy puppy was lodged safely under one arm, its floppy ears moving as it turned its head to identify Scully as the source of the surprised gasp that left her mouth. ‘Mulder.’

It wasn’t a question, rather a sound that automatically left her lips. She looked at him, then back at the pup, and a million questions flooded her system. He gave her time to process as he stood there, the little thing in his arms moving around a bit as it craved attention, and Mulder reached in to scratch their head as he took a step forward.

‘She’s yours if you want her,’ he said. 

Scully bit her lip and tried to give a name to the overwhelming emotion that came over her. She couldn’t, so she stayed quiet for a long minute, feeling her heart beat louder and louder as time went on. 

‘So is this like… a Valentine’s day thing?’ she finally asked.

‘It’s a commitment thing,’ Mulder answered as he breathed deeply.

‘I’ll say,’ Scully groaned. 

‘No, I meant… A loyalty thing. I am afraid the monsters will come out and take you away again some day,’ he admitted, ‘But I think the monster here is also me. I’m sorry, Scully. I feel like I don’t know anymore how to keep you safe.’ 

Her expression softened and she just could not be mad at him anymore. This wonderful man, so clueless sometimes and misunderstood. He had always had his own ways of showing her his affection. That hadn’t changed, but somehow she’d tuned out of his frequency and turned his love language into static. But seeing him here, his eyes filled with glee and, yes, love, she could almost see their energy waves find each other again. 

‘You’re not a monster,’ she whispered, and her voice was heavy with sadness as she realized that maybe she’d sometimes treated him as one.

‘I’m just trying to survive, Scully. I don’t know how to do this any more than you do.’

‘And I am as afraid as you are,’ she admitted quietly as she stepped forward and reached out her arms, ‘But when has that ever stopped us?’ 

He watched as she carefully extracted the dog from his arms and held it close to her heart. The puppy licked her jaw and she giggled. 

‘So… You like her?’ Mulder asked carefully.

Scully turned to look at him, her face half buried in golden fur. ‘I already have a sidekick,’ she joked. ‘I don’t need another one.’

‘This one doesn’t forget their car,’ Mulder pointed out. ‘And is a lot more useful when it comes to bone detection.’ 

‘Yeah, you’re right. She can be my sidekick from now on,’ Scully agreed. 

‘Then… What about me?’ Mulder asked, his eyebrows raised as he watched her put the dog down. 

Scully stepped towards him and reached for his hand after checking to see if they were still alone. ‘You,’ she said softly, ‘You are my partner.’

✦✧✦✧

They stood there a while, the puppy at her feet, her hand firmly in his. It felt right.

‘A puppy won’t solve everything,’ Scully warned him. 

‘No, but it might keep us safe.’ He pointed at the little face. ‘She’ll always be there. And she’ll grow up to be quite the guard dog, I know it.’

‘But I have you for that,’ Scully smiled up at him. 

‘I thought you didn’t need me,’ Mulder attempted to sound hurt, ‘that you were fine on your own.’ 

‘Maybe I was wrong.’ 

‘No, it’s me who needs you,’ he shook his head. ‘You, you’re made to thrive alone. Me, I just fall apart.’

‘Maybe all we need is each other, then.’ Scully kneeled next to the dog and felt her heart overflow as the pup already sought refuge close to her body. ‘Not letting you fall apart will hold me together as well. It just takes us talking to each other, Mulder. That’s all.’

‘Well, we’ll have to talk if you’re going to raise this one with me around,’ he pointed out.

‘Then maybe a puppy does solve everything,’ she grinned. 

He stepped in to stand beside her and look down at the two women that were now in his life. 

‘What is her name?’ Scully asked as she looked up, her hands still busy ruffling the little puppy’s ears. 

‘Guess,’ Mulder prompted.

‘Come on,’ Scully tilted her head, ‘It’s gotta be something cute, right? Look at her face.’ 

‘Remind you of anyone?’ Mulder tried to make her connect the dots, but she just shook her head.

‘Her name is Cookie,’ Mulder grinned, ‘Cookie Monster.’ 

‘I know men are more prone to protanopia than women, Mulder, but I hope you can distinguish between blonde and blue.’ 

‘Just use your imagination,’ he replied, ‘and I thought it suited her. Look.’ He grabbed a cookie from a bag that was on the counter and upon hearing the rustling of plastic the puppy immediately lost all interest in Scully. She wagged her tail and bounced happily towards Mulder’s crouched form to grab the cookie from his fingers. Hooking her furry paw over his wrist, Cookie muched down on the biscuit while looking innocently at Scully. ‘See?’ Mulder grinned. Scully shook her head, already knowing deep down that there was no way she was going to leave here without the pup.

✦✧✦✧

Scully soon found out how much Cookie would change their lives as she readily accepted Mulder’s offer to drive them home. She’d get someone to pick up her car, it wasn’t a big deal, and as the thought traveled through her brain she decided not to linger but to let it go. Darkness was created within, and one held the power within oneself to switch on the light. And light could come in many forms. 

Mulder saw it too. He saw it in the way the watery sun hit Scully’s hair as she exited the car, bowing down to help the puppy out. He felt it in the giggle she released as she nearly tripped over her own feet in an attempt to evade the dog. He caught her elbow and looked straight into the sun as her eyes met his. He sent a flash prayer up to her God, asking for her to never feel anything less than happy. It would be hard work, and he might regret this grand gesture sooner rather than later, but in the end it would be one step towards their infinite future. 

She allowed him to open her door, and soon they were inside her apartment rummaging through her things to find a blanket and bowl for their new team member. Mulder watched how Scully gave her pup a designated corner in her house and soon the little creature was curled up in the corner. Not a monster after all, Mulder thought.

Two cups of coffee slowly cooled down in front of them as they took some time to be together, both of them pretending it was time for the pup to settle in. ‘She’s so quiet,’ Scully commented softly as she sunk into the couch a little. Next to her, Mulder rolled up his sleeves and shifted closer to her. ‘Just to be clear,’ he said slowly, ‘This, this is a date, right?’ 

She turned her head to look at him, his face hopeful and a little scared. 

‘You can be incredibly stupid sometimes, you know that?’ Scully said.

His eyebrows rose and his lips opened as if he was going to respond, but he stayed quiet. 

‘I don’t need a date,’ she explained as she examined his features with great precision. ‘But if that’s what you would like to call this, then yes.’

‘I would,’ he nodded. 

Scully smirked and bowed her head when he didn’t make the next move. ‘You… you don’t need to ask permission, Mulder.’

He didn’t, but instead shot a look over at the sleeping pup before slowly leaning in and finding himself surrounded by her warm breath. She hesitated, prolonged the moment like no one else could, and he felt her nose lightly caress the side of his. Their upper lips touched and his eyes fluttered shut as she captured him completely. 

Their kiss was gentle, an affirmation of so many things rather than an ignition. He was delighted when she allowed him to take control and explore her fully, and her hands wound themselves in his hair the second he pulled her to him. 

As they came up for air he turned his head to check the corner again. ‘She’s fine,’ Scully hummed as she grazed her lips across his cheek. ‘Just checking for monsters,’ he groaned as he buried his face in her hair. 

If they had any appointments or work commitments to attend to that day, they didn’t care enough to keep them. All they cared about was this thing between them - the thing they finally dared to address. It didn’t have a name, and it didn’t need one. All it needed was them, their bodies slowly coming together, a commitment unspoken but no less real because of it. 

Gentle exploration turned urgent and quiet, controlled breaths turned to heavy heartbeats as they slid into this new part of them. Nowhere is truly dark if one knows how to find the way, and investigation was something they both excelled at - and today, work be damned, monsters be damned, protocol be damned, was the day they showed each other just how good they were.

He made love to her on the couch, quietly, a little awkwardly, and afterwards they drank cold coffee as she lay against his chest wrapped in his light blue dress shirt. They then took to the shower, thinking it was a good idea to get clean before heading back to work - but they never made it out the door because as soon as her cold, wet lips touched his clavicle he was lost and needed to be found again, and again. 

Dinner was ordered and consumed on the floor, two beers in front of them, a dog at her feet and another deeply committed creature sunk down beside her to her left. She looked at him from time to time, caught him staring and finally gave up on holding back her blush as she playfully shoved his shoulder. 

They talked, a little, but nothing was louder than his actions as he couldn’t resist kissing her cheek halfway through one of her speeches. ‘You’re crazy,’ she grinned, and he shrugged as he sank down beside her again.

  
  


✦✧✦✧

  
  


‘I think you’re right, Mulder,’ Scully purred as she lazily raised her head from her pillow. He hummed beside her and let his fingers play through her hair as she lifted herself. ‘What’ya mean, Scully?’

A soft, cheeky smile erupted across her face and she gave a nod in the general direction of her bedroom door. ‘I think there are monsters in the dark.’ 

His brain told him there should be some instinctual response kicking in right about now, but it didn’t, and his heart said it was because she was safe and there was no need to worry, as it had learned to trust her instincts over his own. So instead of heroically jumping up and defending her he turned his head to follow her line of sight. 

And she was right.

In the darkest corner of the room, right next to the door leading to an even darker hallway, he saw two eyes. 

But they weren’t evil. They weren’t the almond-shaped yellow snake eyes he saw in his nightmares. Instead they were kind, gentle orbs of curiosity beaming directly at them, and he giggled at the irony of it all. Scully chuckled with him. ‘Not the manly sound I’d expect from you at this time,’ she commented, but he silenced her with a gentle kiss to her forehead before throwing back his corner of the blanket.

He stood up, naked as the day he was born, winked at Scully over his shoulder and moved to rescue her from the creature she’d seen. ‘Shoo, Cookie,’ he said, and the scruffy little dog moved its tiny paws to wiggle out of the room. ‘Good dog,’ he told her before closing the door behind him and turning around. Scully watched him in silence as he got back to the bed. 

‘Manly enough for you?’ he asked, cockiness lining his voice.

She just shook her head in amusement, and as he got back under the covers he felt her small, cold hand make contact with his already tingling abdominal muscles. The last thing he remembered seeing before his view turned ginger, then black, was her pink tongue wetting her gloriously kiss-swollen lips.

  
  



End file.
